Coffee Shop XXXVIII-7/20/2013

[Boris]

Good move, Terry. That's the best resolution to this problem. It's absolutely absurd to "force" you to send the engine back for something minor, as long as you are willing to repair the engine yourself. I have two BLI steamers, and the first thing I did was shut off the smoke unit. I can live with the sound, but not the smoke. I also agree that they should resume selling DCC "ready" models w/o sound. I end up using F8 to mute my sound units most of the time.

Joe

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Sound locos drive me nuts. I had one some years ago. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. One of my friends swapped me a Bachmann DCC booster for it.

 

[Dr. John]

I have mixed feelings about sound in locomotives. It can get annoying rather quickly. I have one steam engine with sound (Bachmann On30 Forney) and two diesels with sound (a BLI SW-7 and a Walthers/Proto SW-8). I definitely like the steam sound effects better.

 

[kbkchooch]

Hey y'all!
Lousy day here, The house's AC blower motor comes on, but I can barely feel the air coming out of the vents. What I can feel is ice cold. Since it is in the attic they will only schedule a morning appointment, so I wait for 7:30 Thursday.

Ins adjusted came and looked a SWMBO's car. Yes it's covered, but they only wrote a check for the parts and alignment,,,,,,,no discount for ME replacing the struts & springs, or saving them a tow bill. Why should I even bother after all. Why not pay the $250 deductible and let somebody else tow the car and bust their knuckles fixing it?? I can fix it better and cheaper, but they want to be stupid about it. In either case, I got the parts tonight and will start on it at the 1st light of day tomorrow. SWMBO will be calling them back tomorrow to argue the point. I kinda feel sorry for whomever answers the phone!

So for now I'm sitting in the basement, with a box fan pointed in my direction, shirtless in my B.V.D's. Thanks God there's no webcam on this PC!!!

 

[Boris]

Most annoying is the 567 diesel sound when idling. I find it distracting. I don't mind so much when the sound engine is moving over the layout. Today, I was running a sound equipped engine, having fun with the warning bell, and horn sounds. I was so in to it that I failed to flip the polarity switch for the reverse loop. Took me a few seconds to figure out what happened. Oops!

Joe

 

[Boris]

Hey y'all!
Lousy day here, The house's AC blower motor comes on, but I can barely feel the air coming out of the vents. What I can feel is ice cold. Since it is in the attic they will only schedule a morning appointment, so I wait for 7:30 Thursday.

Ins adjusted came and looked a SWMBO's car. Yes it's covered, but they only wrote a check for the parts and alignment,,,,,,,no discount for ME replacing the struts & springs, or saving them a tow bill. Why should I even bother after all. Why not pay the $250 deductible and let somebody else tow the car and bust their knuckles fixing it?? I can fix it better and cheaper, but they want to be stupid about it. In either case, I got the parts tonight and will start on it at the 1st light of day tomorrow. SWMBO will be calling them back tomorrow to argue the point. I kinda feel sorry for whomever answers the phone!

So for now I'm sitting in the basement, with a box fan pointed in my direction, shirtless in my B.V.D's. Thanks God there's no webcam on this PC!!!

Not a good day, for sure. Hope the AC only a minor problem, and easily fixed. Replacing the struts and springs is no fun, I agree, you should have made them to it to shop where they could have all the fun!

Joe

 

[WCWBrassHat]

Evening all!

Hope Jeffery's appointment went well. I guess he is worn out from the trip!

I have found sound decoders to be very annoying at the normal volumes. I think they should be turned down enough that it is not audiable from more than 3' away. It will also help to convey distance if they are not so loud. JMHO.

Glenn

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Doc appointment went well. Got sixteen stitches out and about as many staples. The pain was minor. It felt like a few bee stings. The doc is extremely pleased with the way it's healing. I go back on Sept 30th. We should start talking about about getting the stump ready for a prosthesis. Right now it's too large and is oval shaped. It needs to be compressed and rounded into a conical shape. Played some Wolfenstien3D and Doom II/Final Doom/TNT. Been kicking a lot of butt. Knowing the cheat codes helps a lot. That's it for today. See y'all tomorrow.

 

[bwells]

Chooch, what is a SWMBO?

Hey y'all!
Lousy day here, The house's AC blower motor comes on, but I can barely feel the air coming out of the vents. What I can feel is ice cold. Since it is in the attic they will only schedule a morning appointment, so I wait for 7:30 Thursday.

Ins adjusted came and looked a SWMBO's car. Yes it's covered, but they only wrote a check for the parts and alignment,,,,,,,no discount for ME replacing the struts & springs, or saving them a tow bill. Why should I even bother after all. Why not pay the $250 deductible and let somebody else tow the car and bust their knuckles fixing it?? I can fix it better and cheaper, but they want to be stupid about it. In either case, I got the parts tonight and will start on it at the 1st light of day tomorrow. SWMBO will be calling them back tomorrow to argue the point. I kinda feel sorry for whomever answers the phone!

So for now I'm sitting in the basement, with a box fan pointed in my direction, shirtless in my B.V.D's. Thanks God there's no webcam on this PC!!!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Chooch, what is a SWMBO?

She Who Must Be Obeyed.

 

[Boris]

She Who Must Be Obeyed.

What do you not understand about that????????? In other cultures it is called "Marital Diplomacy" Here, it's called the BOSS with da Sauce!!!!!!!!. This is a reality of life, bro! Ever watch "Jersey Wives"??? They are = to SI Girls, because SI Girls become Jersey Wives. Ask any Guido or Benny, or Native NJ Guy!!!!! (Also applies in MD and Northern VA).

 

[Boris]

Yo Glenn:

That's a good idea, turning the volume down. It still annoys me, but at a lower volume it is more tolerable. My GP15-1 is set at a lower volume, but at idle, it still drives me to hit the F8 button. Quiet is nice. Believe it or not, I prefer to run my RDG passenger train behind my Atlas/Roco FP7, rather than behind either of my Genesis FP7s, because of the noise from the Tsunami, even when volume is reduced. Each to his own, but to me sound ain't what it's cracked up to be.

Joe

 

[Cjcrescent]

I have mixed feelings about sound in locomotives. It can get annoying rather quickly. I have one steam engine with sound (Bachmann On30 Forney) and two diesels with sound (a BLI SW-7 and a Walthers/Proto SW-8). I definitely like the steam sound effects better.

I know what you mean John. Do you remember Roy Keeley? I got to demonstrate for him, for 3 days, his O scale L&N Big Emma, with a PFM sound unit in it at a show in Pensacola. After 4 hours, I swore that I'd never have a loco with sound in it! I do have one engine with a tsunami steam in it, but it is very low volume wise, and I hardly ever run it without it being muted.

Z-scale??? Ya gots ta be kiddin' me! I have always heard that there were 2 scales smaller than HO, but even now, I can't see 'em!

 

[Cjcrescent]

Chooch, what is a SWMBO?

The term was used, in a 1950's Sci-Fi movie called "SHE!". I can't find anything as to the origin of the word, so this movie may well be the source. It was one of those grade C films that it seems everyone was making about alien invasions, contact with alien races, etc, on spectacularly low budgets. In the movie, explorers from Earth, landed on this strange planet, where the woman was superior and the man subservient. IIRC, The Earthmen first get the men to realize their "natural superiority", (cough, cough), to women and start a revolution. The SWMBO, at first upset with the Earthmen, tries to kill them in some extremely painful way, finally falls in love with the commander of the mission, and they escape to earth via the Earthmen's ship. While the girl who played "SHE" was attractive, you never heard her name. She was always referred to as "She Who Must Be Obeyed!". I don't know if this term was in common usage then as it is today but over the years, men started to refer to their wives as this, and it soon became SWMBO.

There is a variation on the term SWMBO, and that is SWAMBO, meaning " She Who Must ALWAYS Be Obeyed!" It doesn't matter if you're married or just have a girlfriend, you will be under her power soon enough.

 

[tootnkumin]

Haven't heard of that movie but the term (the full phrase) was used frequently by an Australian actor, Leo McKern, referring to his wife, in a British semi sitcom called "Rumpole of the Bailey", he being Rumpole as a lawyer at the Old Bailey court.

 

[Bill Tidler Jr.]

Good Morning! from Tipton IN.

It's Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Temperature in TIPTON IN

HOT! (again) today and still no rain.

 

[blackz28]

I agree with the sound issue , I can have steamers on a layout quietly simmering with an occasional generator come on & its nice to listen to , but throw a few diesels on the layout
& listen to them idle well........ that will drive you insane

 

[blownoutcylinder]

Good Morning

Damp, supermuggy, very sticky..you name it...it is that in spades here...it rained most of the night here so our humidity is right through the roof...72 feeling like 90 right now...posta get to 82 feeling like 99 later in the sunshine and stick....Confused

Got several gotta does and other assorted stuff done yesterday...both for work and home..so today will be my off day...think I'll escape later on and visit the mall and watch the scenery...Whistling

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Good morning. It's 74° with 88% humidity. The high will be 94° but it will feel like 103°.

No plans for today. Yesterday I was playing games on this computer so today I guess I'll play games on the IIe. Who knows, I may start on writing a new one. Maybe a text adventure based on Clue.

 

[Boris]

Good Morning:

72° and overcast with a 30% chance of some form of rain this afternoon. Some of the spring plants are turning yellow, it's beginning to look like the end of summer. We have a few errands to run this morning, other than that not much is planned.

Late last night, I dug out a portion of the "Dreamliner Streamliner", and set it on my layout. This unfinished project was thought of before Walthers began selling their LW passenger train cars, and consists of Rivarossi's Budd Sleeping cars and Concor 85' "stainless steel" coaches, diner, Slumbercoach and Observation. My original plan was a Southeastern passenger train, probably early Amtrak. Now the question is what to do with them? They all still have x2f couplers, except for the first car, which has a clone coupler. At the time I bought them, they were pretty much what was available. Now, they don't look so good, in comparison. I have to think about this.

Joe